GF - Forever
by Rdk3
Summary: Mysteries, monsters, time travel, secrets, friendship, family... Love. The world is a much bigger place than anyone thinks, at some point everyone learns that. The steps become shorter, the distances grow and problems rise from the dust. Yes the world always grows wide, imposing and wonderful... It can also be incredibly small.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of this, just the plot idea...**

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hello, RDK3 here, getting into the Gravity Falls Famdom... So excited for this XD As a huge fan of the show, one of the gratest animations of all time! For Real! I finnaly came to fanfiction looking for a sequel and found it! Great works around here everywhere respecting characters in all forms and being fun and heartwarming... SuperGroverAway, EZB, fereality, ddp456, The Infamous Fly all have great works, and hopefully mine can be as good.**

 **Now this story will be updated differently than my digimon ones, mostly I'll get batches of ten chapter ready before publishing. I'm letting the prologue here so you can follow if you get interested for what is coming, or at least so I don't have to bother doing it later... XD This story will seem a little bit repeatitive at first, but... Well not wanting to ruin any surprises, I'm just gonna say that I wanted this to be a little bit of an original idea to treating the GF universe.**

 **Now to the Prologue!**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

* * *

 _If you've ever taken a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, you've probably seen a bumper sticker for a place called Gravity Falls._

 _It's not on any maps, and most people have never heard of it. Some people think it's a myth. But if you're curious, don't wait._

 _Take a trip._

 _Find it._

 _It's out there somewhere in the woods..._ _Waiting..._

* * *

 **Somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean...**

Stanley Pines, former Stanford, former Stetson Pinefield, former Hal Forester, former Andrew "8 ball" Alcatraz, former Steve Pinington and God knows how many other names was quite happy at that particular morning.

There was nothing special about that though, since all of his mornings lately were kind of good, unless he was remembering the one when the giant Platypus attacked, which had been just crazy.

The reason mornings for him were good these days was actually very simple.

He was at sea, sailing around the world… Well at least a part of it, since they had a clear route here, but still, it was a part of the world. There was the fact he had restocked the boat with brown meat, but also the fact that the boat itself had a very special name to him.

The last but not least special reason was the fact that he had a partner in the trip.

A special partner.

"How come you only bought this atrocious canned meat Stanley!" Of course the company could be very whiny about certain things. "You had like, three hundredth dollars with you!"

"Yes I did, but I already explained to you I made an investment"

"In a Chinchilla fight!"

"That Chinchilla was twice the size Ford! How could he lose to that runt?" Stan argued taking his eyes off the lunette to wave his hands around. "It was a sure investment, believe me! Those cheaters must have put something on my chosen's food or something"

"Well you didn't have to buy him"

"He was a looser but he fought like a winner" Stan said glancing at the cabin where Steve had his own comfortable cage. Ford sighed.

"Next time we are crossing the country" There was a resigned tone to his voice "You really should have let me know you weren't welcome in Panama"

"You didn't ask, so not my fault there"

Ford took another bite of the food and chewed with a furrowed face "Neither of the multiverses had worst food than this."

"Hey don't complain yet, it grows on you!" Stanford remained disgusted by the meal. "Maybe it passed, let me see"

Stan took a bite, chewed and frowned.

"There is nothing wrong here Ford"

"That is the problem I guess, how can nothing be wrong with something that tastes so awful?"

"Oh quit complaining pointdexter, you're gonna want to see that" Stan said pointing right ahead towards a black spot in the sky. Ford took the lunette leaving of food to Stan and adjusted the focus. Those were clouds right ahead all right, a storm as big as he ever seen one.

"Should we try to avoid it?" Stan asked, with Ford's special engine they could outrun any storm if needed.

"No, if my calculations are right that is the exactly spot the anomaly is coming from"

"Great, one big hell of a storm, do you think we gonna find any squids or…"

"Probably there is going to be something weird there" Ford said nonchalantly. "Could be squids, giant sharks or maybe a rain of hamburgers! There is no way to tell really"

Stan finished the can, threw it at the garbage bag Ford had fixed because the ocean apparently needed to be clean, and burped.

"Is there any chance we'll find babes and gold?"

"Well, the probabilities wouldn't be too thin"

"Seriously?" Stan was surprised now, but Ford spoke rather seriously. "I was just joking you know."

"There is no joking when dealing with the strange and weird Stan" Ford stated raising a finger like a teacher. "Anomalies, as I told you already, defy everything we might expect from reality"

"Right, so maybe a cash rain wouldn't be too farfetched either?" Ford shrugged and Stan rubbed his hands together with a new twinkle in his eyes "Al right, so let's get this boat going!"

Ford went to the control panel and kept vigil as they gained speed, the sun slowly being hidden by the raging clouds. When finally they got into the storm, the day was gone, and everything was chaos, crushing chaos, like the world was tumbling and falling apart. Thunder and lightning suddenly became a choir of light and sound, striking down like a hundred hungry beasts warring against one another.

Suddenly all of Stan's excitement vanished, particularly in the face of such a force. That was a storm all right, but of all of the storms they faced in this trip, this one seemed and felt different. It was the usual sea storm, but something else, as if it was trying to push them away. The waves hit them violently and he could tell they were getting bigger. But when looking around, Stan saw to his amazement that they behaved in a circular motion, spreading across the path, as far as he could see.

Winds, meanwhile, blew with such a force Stan had to hold tight and walk to the cabin before he got flung away from the boat.

"Where are the security cables?" He yelled inside, and Ford pointed to a corner on the floor. "Right." There was a loud beeping sound coming from Ford as Stan tied both of them up and he looked to see a strange device in his brother's hands.

"This scanner is getting even stronger signals as we get closer!" Ford said pointing the thingy ahead. "Remarkable"

"Shouldn't you be using the compass?!" Ford pointed to said compass showing the needle changing from one side to the other like a crazy coward chicken running away. "Oh hell"

"I think that whatever anomaly is in this storm it's probably generating magnetic disturbances…" Ford scratched his chin "Either that or the north is actually changing places around us…" he took the hand from his chin looking up "Or maybe we are changing places and…"

"Would you please look to where we are going!"

"Oh sorry" Ford saw the approaching wave and gave the engine a burst of speed jumping above it, a lighting suddenly fell right in front of them and he turned the wheel quickly, dodging the piece of angry skies. "Remarkable!"

"Remarkable?" Stan watched as lighting lit the whole view to his right, almost blinding him. "What is so remarkable about nature trying to end us?!"

"Can't you see Stan, it's like this thing is some sort of protection, acting to keep us out!"

"The heck with that" To prove his point, a bolt of lighting suddenly struck the Stan'o War II, and the boat was encased in deadly electricity, which seemed repelled from them, before striking the water wholly, enlightening a giant mangled shadow in the depths of the ocean that none of them seemed to notice.

"Oh come on Stan! Light it up!" Ford said, not even bothering to look around as he chuckled at his own joke "You know this boat is prepared to disperse any lighting thanks to my conduct work, besides it has the strongest floating capability possible in this universe"

"Easy to listen. Hard to feel it!" Stan yelled as another one struck them, he was sure his heart was hammering and trying to run away by now. He closed his eyes, just so he could get a rest, the beeping seeming drowning in the cacophony.

"Are you? Are you scared Stan?" Ford seemed surprised and amused at the same time.

"What? I'm just resting my eyes!" Stan yelled, hearing Ford laugh.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Oh shut up brainiac! Just let me know when this is over!" Whenever a lightning struck it seemed a lot like Colombian soldiers firing at him again.

"Come on Stan! This is a adventure remember? Just like the squid!" Ford said as they jumped a wave, the boat leaving the contact with the sea for a moment.

"That squid was just a over sized jeeeeerk!" They landed and he kept ranting "Not nature trying to get back at me because of my crimes against her!"

"What crimes?!" Ford was suddenly very intrigued, as he forced himself to turn on the wipers.

"Oh you know!" Stan yelled a top of his lungs. "Typical littering, dump wasting… Maybe accidentally hitting one or two animals! But that would be unfair, since they're one of my greatest attractions now!"

"One?" Ford said quickly coming to an obvious conclusion; he narrowed his eyes though at the sight of another wave coming. "Oh for goodness' sake Stan! Wouldn't it be more dignify to bury them?!"

"And let those poor fellas be forgotten?! Never! The TurtleDeer is now a legend do you hear meeee?! A legeeeend!" Ford heard but was too occupied pressing forward, forcing the boat to almost climb the steep water before jumping and landing in a splash. Ford gripped his scanner, the beeping getting stronger now. Stan simply felt the impact, coming to his knees as water splashed into his face. "Hot Belgian Waffles! What was that?!"

"Open your eyes and I'll let you know!" He could hear Ford chuckling somehow, and that made him a little furious.

"What are you laughing at?!"

"Nothing!" His brother said as Stan again felt a falling sensation, with his feet almost floating off the floor.

"I heard it! You were laughing at me!" Stan said opening his eyes, he quickly shut them again as he connected the falling sensation with the vision of the boat mid jump. "Dammit!"

"Think of this as one of your pick up tricks! You know, trying to be confident and all that!"

"Not the best time! And does that beep never stops?!"

"It's getting louder, I think we are getting closer and… Oh-oh!"

"Oh-oh?" Stanley opened his eyes again, bulged them, and gripped the rail bar on the cabin a little tighter as the biggest wave he ever seem in his life, real or TV, rose before them, threatening to swallow the Stan'o War II whole even if it was Titanic sized. "What now?! Where do we go?"

"Right ahead" Ford said, putting more force into the boat. The engine roared to life and went forward, climbing the wave like a ramp, as it got more and more vertical. Stan was flung into the wall, lying down, and Ford had to hold the wheel as the water passed them through and them there was only a dark sky in front of them. The boat passed the wave and now was alone, midair, for just a second aiming up. Lighting again roared above, and for a second Stan and Ford could have sworn they saw shadows dancing in the flashing light.

That was, until the boat started to fall.

Both of the twins screamed, Ford used his legs to jump back, keeping him from being shoved into the front window while Stan was hit it face first as the free fall pulled them down towards a certainly painful landing.

"Don't worry Stan!" Ford shouted swimming in the air to reach the controls "I've… got… this!"

"Got what?!" Ford saw Stan turning his smashed face around, his brother was within reach of the buttons.

"Press the yellow button Stan!"

"The what?!" Stan shouted managing a glance at the panel.

"The yellow button!" Ford shouted feeling the ocean getting closer now.

Feeling the same, but seasoned by a real fear for his life, Stan was able to unglue his hand from the front view and reach out to the panel, hitting the button with a might scream of bravery, that only the truly desperate can evoke.

The boat suddenly jerked upwards, whistling was heard and air was pumped by the engine, pouring into the inflatable security system. A yellow ring of rubber suddenly grew around the Stan of War II, as it hit the water again keeping them afloat, although not without some injuries.

"My glasses! Stan my glasses, I think they are ruined!" Ford said as he put them on. "Oh, actually they are okay Stan! Good news right? I wonder what that cracking sound was though"

"It was me smartass!" Stan said nonchalantly rubbing his sore face and snapping his back to alleviate the sudden pain. "Whose idea was to put this around the boat?" He asked as the storm raged on, although the waves seemed to have vanished now.

"Well, your employee actually, he said it would be useful because boats always got sunk for lack of it"

"Well, another reminder that Soos deserved the shack" Stanley said as he glanced around "Not that I ever thought of feeling like a bathtub duck. So what now?"

"Well, there are good and bad news"

"I didn't think there was any good news, so maybe we are lucky?" Stan said hopefully as another lightning hit the boat and was discharged into the water. "Maybe not"

"Good news is I don't think we can be destroyed in this storm, the float ring has a special compost that keeps it always floating upside up"

"Okay, I like that… What is the bad news?"

"Bad news is, turning the engines on will blow up the floating ring"

"Great." The boat shook balancing in the agitated waters, a bigger wave hit them, throwing the twins back and forth, Stan got up and snapped his back again. "So we're stuck between safety and pure, unadulterated risk of death."

Ford sat down on the floor, rubbing his neck absently.

"We might as well rest a little" He said as Stan joined him, both already used to the boat's balance

"If only I had my book of jokes with me" Stanley said failing to notice Ford's sudden poker face.

"Yes it was… So unfortunate." He cleaned his throat. "That seagull really came out of nowhere"

"Stupid Caribbean bird" Stan grumbled.

They spent some time in silence, glancing around and listening to the storm. After the third consecutive lighting uselessly tried to hit them, Ford was starting to think back to his interdimensional travels and how they were far worst. Twice the waves almost made them turn, and once they actually did, hanging for their lives in the cabin until the floating ring forced the boat back upside up. The six-fingered man gasped and heaved trying to regain his breath, as Stan rubbed his water filled nose.

"Tell me again about how Soos gave you that idea?" Ford kept coughing. "Remind me to get him something when we get back, something young people dig these days."

"Yeah yeah" They both sat again, and held tight to the rails, waiting for the next ordeal. "How exactly did you find your… crew anyway?"

"What? Wouldn't you rather tell me some science fiction bullshit tale from another dimension?"

"I don't think I want you sleeping right now" Ford said managing to smirk. "Guess I'm also curious about the shack"

"Oh" Stan said, glancing at his brother. Even though they were now almost two years out at sea, there had been little talk about the times Ford was away. Usually he would be curious about boring stuff, and only a few times he asked about their family, with Stan giving short and unemotional answers, but there was never a real talk about anything.

Their father had died, mother too… Shermy was… Out of reach mostly… Times moved on. And really, it was as simple as that as much as it pained him.

"Wendy, she came to the shack looking for a job and that's it. There weren't many people accepting my more than fair payment, and she was too lazy to try and negotiate."

Ford stared back at his brother.

"That's it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Not every story is one big melodrama you know?" Stan explained avoiding looking at his brother. Ford blinked.

"What about Soos?"

"Well Soos was just there someday, you know. My handyman couldn't change a light bulb, so I gave Soos the shirt and made him fix the golf cart because, you know, is hard to st… I mean buy those things and having them perfect."

"Did he fix it?"

"Can't remember… Anyway, the kid kept growing, no one else accepted the payment, again, and well… history is history."

Ford glanced at Stan to see his brother furrowing, obviously uncomfortable. The boat shook again, stubbornly reminding them of their situation.

"Well he does think very highly of you"

"W-what? Of course he thinks that! I taught the kid everything about being a man, except drinking. Did you know I was the one who taught him how to sail? When he bought that boat of his, he stood floating in the shore for three whole days! Heck I was even at his graduation ceremony! Not that wanted to be there, but he asked and well, there was no one at the shack anyway and the TV was broken, so why wouldn't I go? Right?!" Stan said with conviction and the most fake of laughs, never forgetting how he basically had to make a hole in the ceiling with one of his guns to get all of the costumers out and be at the school in time.

The next day he told Soos to fix the hole of course.

 _"Wow, it's like a meteor fell here mister Pines… Weirdly it must have fazed through the roof"_

 _"I shot a bat, Soos" He had explained._

Stan shook away from the memory and found a smirking Ford beside him.

"What?"

"You care a lot about him"

"Yeah well…" Stan fell silent, and bit his lip as another bolt of lightning tried to turn them into dust. The twins exchanged another look, the storm and water feeling like a orchestra made for an epic conclusion, they both seemed to sense. "Before we do this, any regrets?"

"Hh, a lot, but mostly I guess I regret hearing your girl advice back in LA"

"Oh come on!"

"I just got slapped Stanley, and that was not pleasant"

"Yeah but… Come on! I told you: If a girl asks what you think about One Hundred and One Directions, you say they're great! The best of all even if you totally disagree"

The both stopped for a second before chuckling; after all they were having fun.

"Man, I do feel sorry for Dipper" Ford stated nostalgically. "Geniuses like us; we are not really dating types."

"The kid got it covered" Stan was very nonchalantly as he said that, checking both their cables.

"What? How can you be so sure?"

"First of all, he was hesitant about my moves, and not because they came from me" Stan said before Ford could make a comment "Second, didn't you see that hat exchange?"

"Yeah, but to me, it seemed like a friendship token or something."

"Wacko talk! That was totally feelings stuff, trust me" Stan said as smug as possible.

"You know something I don't know?" Ford was genuinely intrigued by that possibility.

"Geeesh! I know a lot of stuff you don't know brainiac" Stan got up, offering his brother a hand. "So let's go?"

"Yeah" Ford said, reaching with his six fingers. Both brothers stood on the cabin, nodding and grinning as they faced the storm. Ford put a hand on the accelerator, ready to jump start the engine when Stan's eyes bulged, focusing right ahead.

"There!" He pointed, almost scaring Ford.

"What?!" He asked, and there it was, sunlight at the edge of the storm.

"Come on Ford!" Stan bellowed and Ford acted.

The boat came to life amidst the storm, exploding the floating ring and racing ahead. The waves came, crashing and trying to stop them, but they were motivated now, and Stan took the wheel, maneuvering themselves around the waves and crashing lighting.

"Big one Stan!" Ford shouted, and Stan gulped yet again, desperately turning the wheel, the boat made the curve, instead of facing the wave they started running along its length. Ford pushed the engines further as they raced against the biblical leviathan of water, thousands of thousands of liters weighting down at the Pines.

Wind was now howling around them now too, and Stan cringed as the stupid beeping suddenly lit up again, he took it and threw it out of the window.

"Stanley!"

"I had enough of that thing!"

For sighed looking back at the dark waters. "Well, at least you're not scared anymore!"

"Shut up!" Stan screamed feeling very much scared, he felt like hell hounds were right on his tail and he had meat stuck in his pants. The wave started to lift the side of the boat. Almost there. He was dripping sweat now. Almost there! Light! The wave ended just as they were about to turn, making the boat jump in a half made ramp. Ford screamed. The boat twirled midair turning them upside down, rotating like a bullet shot. Stan shouted, yelled and then screamed. They hit the water in a splash…

For a second they stood heaving, side by side, eyes glassed out before both realized what they had done.

"We made it!" They shouted in unison.

"That was thrilling!" Ford spoke as they high sixed.

"I know! I knew we could beat that stupid storm! Take that you jerk face!" Stan shouted back, and a thunder roared in answer. "Okay let's go"

"We better"

Stan look to his right, saw the light and headed promptly. Ford still managed a sad gaze behind them. "I took one week to build that scanner" He lamented.

"You should have built a less annoying on...oooOOh Crap!" Stan cursed gripping tightly at the wheel.

"What is it this tim… Oh my Infinity Sided Dice!"

Right about then the engine stopped, coughed and died.

Neither of twins noticed that though, rather they kept staring at the sunlit open ocean before them, except the light was not coming from the sun and the ocean was not quite an ocean…

In fact it was nothing like the sun and the ocean…

In fact, stopping to think a bit it was nothing like anything at all...

How is that?

Well… It was some weird shit…

* * *

 **Hope you guys like it! XD**

 **Anyway I'm open to criticism, opinions, tips... Please Review**


	2. We're Back!

**WE'RE BACK!  
**

* * *

Dipper Pines looked out of the window with longing and expectation glistening in his eyes.

All around the pine trees passed by, seeming like one long welcome line, greeting his return to that old little town somewhere in Oregon, a place of warmth and laughter which called to his heart every day since that summer. Yes, that was something.

His sister always said, ever since he could remember, that he shouldn't worry too much. So far though the only place where he found himself at peace, real passion driven peace, was that town surrounded by its mysteries and puzzles. Resting his eyes only for a moment, he allowed himself not to think about the serious matter that brought him here… Well, him and his sister, whom was currently sleeping beside him, hugging her pig and mumbling about marshmallow pizzas.

Although Mabel Pines, his twin, could be a bottomless pit of energy, boring bus trips without her special Mabel Juice, always made her sleepy faster than they did him.

For Dipper those trips were easy enough since his brain was always in full activity thinking or worrying. Right now, part of it was focused on the box which he was bringing back to the infamous Mystery Shack. Another part was wondering what mystery was ahead of them and a third one, but not less important was focusing on everyone he missed. His hand suddenly was upon his head, brushing the edge of the old lumberjack hat he had come to cherish so much. The memento was always a source of comfort when chats, phone calls and mail weren't enough.

He was almost sixteen now, and, young but mature, he couldn't help but chuckle at his younger self's acts, not that he was much better, but still three years was a heck of a long time. His eyes wondered back to the pine trees when he finally saw the old water tower coming closer and closer above them, like a anxious kid peeking from behind the bushes, but a very nice one it was, turning slowly to show the letters saying…

"DON'T EAT THE PINKY!" Mabel burst awake with panic filled eyes. Waddles was quick to react and jump away from her in fright, hiding beneath the sits as the girl took off her shoes to see that her pink toe was still there.

Looking to her side, Mabel Pines remembered where she was and sighed in relief to herself, feeling the familiar presence on her side.

"Wow, man that was a relief, never ever ever I want to dream about giant chocolate bunnies again, those guys are so creepy Dipper… Dipper?" Mabel finally looked at her brother, to find him heaving on his seat, a hand clutched tightly to his chest while the horror stricken face seemed as white as milk under his hat. "Wow Dipper, relax there bro-bro…"

"R-Relax?" Dipper squeaked. "I-I was… " He took another breathe to continue. "I was relaxed… Until you… You scared the heck out me!"

"Oh, is not like we… Hey…" Mabel stopped and finally paid attention to her surroundings, her eyes growing big, as a girlish scream started to build inside her chest.

"Mabel?" Dipper asked, seeing her twin's face contorting to biting her lips and shaking her hands around. He quickly covered his ears.

"Oh MY GOSH WE'RE ALMOST THERE!" Mabel screamed jumping from her seat. "Waddles! Waddles! Come here Waddles! Sorry for scaring you buddy, but look! Look! LOOK! LOOK!" She pointed to the pig, jumping up and down "IT's HERE WADDLES It's HERE! There's the water tower! See? I bet you can't wait to see Gompers huh?"

The pig made a oink that could be a yes, and Mabel started chatting, or rather going on a rampage about everyone she wanted to see. Dipper chuckled. His sister's enthusiasm was bigger than anything on earth and certainly it was contagious. "MISTER DRIVER! HIT THE GAS ON THIS BUCKET! WE'RE GOING TO GRAVITY FALLS!"

* * *

Meanwhile, not so far away, but far enough to be a good chunk of a walk, like a walk to get you really tired, sweaty and, probably, a bad mood, there rested a lone cabin in the woods. Through a window, holding a cell phone against her ear was a girl in her teens. She was in her room resting upside down on her bed, her feet rose so they leaned against the headboard as she bit on her cheek.

The room itself was not really organized. There were school books around the floor, and a target at the wall where a hatched lay buried right in the middle. A tiny TV resting in the drawers was off, while beside it laid a stuffed animal of some undetermined species staring around in silent and, thank goodness, not living eyes. True enough it was a teenager's room, but the most interesting part, besides the girl herself and the white and blue cap hanging from the bedpost, was maybe said headboard from earlier.

It was wide and filled with markings the girl started making ever since she learned that having something sharp and a piece of wood was a sure cure to boredom. There was a 'W' in the corner, some other scratches here and there, although most of all those were covered by pictures, which her bright green eyes now idly stared at. She loved those, they were the ones she treasured the most, pictures taken of people she loved. There was one of her friends, all of them hanging on Thompson's to go crazy, making a mess at their friend's garage. To the side she found one of her brothers, and one of a younger Tambry and herself, cheeky childish grins on their faces. Her father had his own photo too, and amidst those there was one of two kids, twins whom made a summer some years ago incredibly amazing.

One of the twins even had a photo of his own, beaming to the camera as if he was the coolest.

For Wendy Corduroy he kind of was, in his own unique way.

Finally she saw the last photo of all, of a woman holding to herself a baby and smiling softly as if not having a care in the world. How she wished to be truly like that. To have no worries at all. Unfortunately it was not meant to be so, but still, another summer was coming, and so what if she would miss a few people again? Wendy would do what she always did, and enjoy life.  
But not now, right now she was in the middle of a phone talk where Tambry was again complaining about something Robbie did, or didn't do. She has lost track of the conversation at this point, but that was routine now, those two would always argue and go back to making doe eyes to one another.

"So what are you going to do?" Wendy asked, knowing it was the line that drove the dialogue to an end. Really, they were at it like a script now.

"What else? I'm giving him the cold shoulder for a day or two, unless he does something sweet, like this one time he brought the sound to my house and sung to me, it was adorable." Wendy made a disgusted face, glad they were on the phone. Gosh, sometimes she really would never understand romance, although it could be said it was a matter of being in the middle of it instead of watching from afar. Her eyes looked back to a yellow t-shirt with and interrogation mark in the chest, the torn up rag was neatly hanging from her dresser.

"Well, that is a good plan" Wendy wiggled her sock covered toes, and nodded to herself as Tambry said something to which the right answer was silence, until her friend figure it out by herself.

"Yes, that is it, it might be better than the cold shoulder"

"He might even get you roses or something" She could hear Tambry feign puking from miles away.

"Roses!? Never, he knows me too well for that" She chuckled with Tambry for a few seconds, before she heard the footsteps of her father walking around the house towards the kitchen. Sighing she counted to herself… one, two, three… A tumbling and crashing sound later and a teeth grinding Wendy knew she would have to fix the roof's beam again.

"Sorry Tambry I have to go, something came up"

"Oh, okay, we can talk later"

"See ya" Wendy closed her phone, and listened to her father's curses for a while as he kept hitting his head against the ceiling. She counted until ten and two crashed dishes before darting out of the room to her resigned and ungrateful task.

Putting her boots on, the eighteen year old looked back at her photos, fixed her gaze in one specifically, and smiled fondly before going towards the door. She had her hand on the lock when her phone buzzed signaling a message.

* * *

Gravity Falls was a place full of dangers.

It was the home of the weird and strange, as Dipper had come know it, not only a place of friends, but a place where the odd and dangerous could easily be found if you took a wrong step in a morning walk. Even been fairly good friends with most creatures in the region, Dipper knew he should never be too cautious, and so he prepared himself for anything… Well, almost anything, since he now found himself in a tight predicament, merely one minute and twelve seconds after getting off the bus… Although dying asphyxiated was not even close the worst way to check out the grass from underneath he really wished Soos would let go of his greeting hug before that. Man how he envied the way Melody politely greeted Mabel, as his sister excitedly asked when she and Soos would get married.

"Sooooooooos" He squeaked in the crunching embrace "Let… go..."

"Oh, sorry Dipper dude, I'm just so excited, you guys are finally here!" The big man said before letting him down. Dipper swayed on his feet, blinking as his vision cleared while Mabel yelled and jumped onto Soos, instead of running. "Mabel Dude!"

Soos beamed, well he was beaming for a while now, but he beamed more as Mabel dove into the hug. Melody laughed and helped Dipper to his feet. "Thanks" He replied still winded out.

"No problem" She said chuckling "I guess my man doesn't know his strength sometimes."

"Dudes, oh man, dudes, I can't believe it how much you've grown. Before you were like so tiny and now you are… like… Totally not tiny. It's like you both got into some toxic waste or something" Soos, said letting go of Mabel.

"Oh, if that did happen, I would totally be glittergirl" Mabel said throwing some of it in the air. "Dipper would just be more sweaty and noodly."

"Mabel"

Dipper groaned, and Soos chuckled. "Noodly."

"Besides, I'm still the tall one around here people" Mabel said, proudly standing beside Dipper, who quickly walked away.

"Give a few more years Mabel"

Soos heard an oink and knelt to see Waddles. "Hey there dude, missed you too"

Melody clapped her hands together. "Well, now that greetings are done, let's get you guys settled, shall we?"

"Yeah dudes, you can still have your old bedroom, I kept it just like before…" Soos said cheerfully then he frowned. "Oh wait, I think I put some old stuff in there, definitely and old dinosaur of corn, and maybe a few of our lepregnomes, but aside from that it's totally the way you guys left"

"Huh, well, thanks Soos" Dipper said, chuckling. "I was actually worried we would have to…"

"What is a lepregnome!?" Mabel asked excitedly.

"Well, Soos came up with it after a dream, although I told him to avoid sugar before bed."

"That's when I have my best Ideas" Soos confided in them, bringing their bags to his old pick up as everyone climbed in.

"I know! Sugar always helps me think too" Mabel declared. "Secretly I eat cereal at dinner!" She whispered, making Soos' eyes sparkle.

"Genius"

"So anyway, how are things in the Shack?" Dipper asked as they drove, the short distance towards the Shack would be quick, but he still wanted to catch up.

"Oh well, the season is starting strong, we already had a few costumers around" Melody commented. "And the kids really like to come and see the big eared monster"

"Big eared monster?"

"Is that like some big bunny with fangs and a cape?" Mabel asked.

"No, it's Mister Pines' statue I made" Soos said frowning. "Although I don't get what is so scary about it. I mean sure, at night and alone, it might be scary going to the bathroom and finding it there staring at you, and maybe you go a little on edge and end up lost in the woods for running so fast, but still."

"We do keep it covered after closing now" Melody put in, kindly.

"By the way what do you have there Dipper?" Soos asked, talking about the box the boy held. Dipper's expression turned sad, and blinked down.

"Oh this is… huh…" He chewed at his lip. "We'll tell you later, if that is okay"

"Oh well, okay then, but I bet is something cool"

"It actually is" Mabel said, Dipper elbowed her side. "I mean, it's cool I guess"

"You know, it was a pity you guys couldn't be here last year, things would have been so much awesome"

"Yeah but our parents thought there was no one to watch over us" Dipper said, sadly recalling a promise he couldn't fulfill.

"A bunch of poop, I say! SO what if mom and dad don't know Soos! We know him, he is awesome, you're awesome Soos" She said, pointing at him, Soos nodded solemnly.

"And that's a gift I take very seriously"

It didn't take long until the group parked outside. Dipper and Mabel dropped out of the car excitedly, stopping to stare at that old place.

The MYSTERY SHACK was as it always had been. The totem was still there, Stan's old lawn chair, the windows and decorations and the old golf kart, but Soos obviously made some changes, fixing rotten logs and painting the windows in red and yellow. The big 'S' was still missing on the roof, although this time he was actually standing, buried in the lawn with some bird's nest atop of it.

"IT'S STILL THE SAME DIPPER!" Mabel yelled excited, jumping and pointing "Look there is the rock that looks like a face rock, and the old leaf blower is still dropped outside, and…" She stopped at the nest. "Oh boy look at all this, and oohh, what happened there guys?" Mabel said, giving gooey eyes towards the nest. "Are those birdy puppies?!"

Dipper approached as well, and sure enough, there were four hatchlings sleeping in the nest.

"Yeah dudes, I was trying to get the 'S' back up and it kind of fell again, boy that was a crazy day, good thing that family ran away before they could sue us." Soos chuckled. "Anyway, it was here and then that bird came and made a nest, and well… I couldn't get the little dude away from home, so I let him there and now there's a whole bunch of little dudes."

"You and your big heart." Maledy told the big man, who actually rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

Just then someone let out an oink and Mabel took Waddles to show him the birds. "Look waddles, look, you're gonna be an uncle."

"Huh, Mabel."

"Shush Dipper, this is family time" She said.

Dipper rolled his eyes, and carried the box and one of his bags towards the Shack, Soos carried most of Mabel's stuff, and helped them, until they were at least inside the old structure. Looking around Dipper saw the gift shop was still pretty much the same, selling the same old merchandise, probably with the same quality too, except for a line of new t-shirts and the famous founder's statue standing right in the middle.

"Man that sure is…" Dipper frowned, unable to comprehend exactly what word to use. Frightening seemed too kind…

"It needs more glitter" Mabel said approaching the work while rubbing her chin. Soos immediately fidget and started to sweat a little.

"What is it honey?" Melody asked the big man.

"I don't know I just never had a real artist inspecting my work before" Soos said watching the girl circle the statue, eyes narrowed.

She stopped, nodded to herself and poked at it a few times, finally she licked it to Dipper's dismay, and then professionally nodded to herself yet again. "That's definitely a fine work my friend, a fine work indeed" She beamed and punched a stick to the rock saying 'Funtastic'.

"Yes" Soos said pumping a fist.

Dipper meanwhile was still analyzing the room, inspecting a line of shirt with interrogation points, going from yellow to green and red, untill finally noticing something weird around.

"Hey Soos, how come you're still selling Stan's bubbleheads? Aren't you Mr. Mystery now?"

"Well, yeah, but having a bubblehead is a whole different level of honor dude, I'm not that high on myself"

After that, they both had a little tour to see what had changed. The Saascrotch was still around, Stan's axolot was still alive, and the good old taxidermy works were all over the place. It was also easy to see Soos' touch in some of them like the Laser-hand Monkey or the senior mutant samurai turtle. Most impressive tough was right in the back, in what should be the end of the tour, a big amber stone preserving a dinosaur.

"Please tell me that is not real Soos" Dipper said staring at the teeth and razor sharp claws frozen as if the creature was about to tore out a chunk of his lunch.

"Oh no dude" Soos said, and Dipper almost sighed. "It's totally legit"

"What? But if that thing…"

"Oh don't worry man, Mr Mcgucket made this thing that keeps everything frozen there. Truly I wanted to make a zoo for dinosaurs, but Melody thought it would be a bad idea."

"That sounds awesome" Mabel said, looking around the dinosaur. "Hello there, I bet you're a sweetie… Melody did you really think this was a bad idea?"

"I still think it is" Melody reminded, as she crossed her arms.

Soos brushed the comment away. "Anyway this is totally safe, and the children love it."

By the end of it, Dipper and Mabel, already tired from the trip, were now even more exhausted, making their way to the old shared bedroom. Opening the door, they still smiled, nostalgia setting in at the sight of the old place.

"So that is a lepregnome" Dipper said inspecting the ceramic figure, it had pointed hat, long ears and was basically a ginger gnome with green cloths.

"And you must be the raptocorn" Mabel said to the half eaten attraction, who immediately lost another piece of it to a hungry mouth "And you sir I missed you a lot, Dipper look, it's Gompers!"

"Hi Gompers" Dipper said getting past the goat, Mabel let her pig feed from the corn statue too, and went around beaming at the room. The mattresses were right where they remembered, with covers and pillows for the both of them. Dipper put his bag down and sighed, lying down.

"Wow Dipper, the mold is still up there look"

Immediately Dipper looked up, wishing he hadn't. "Is that a nose?"

* * *

 **One chapter done XD please read and review, it's been a while since I've been in this fandom, so I might have missed canonical information, anyway, this is mostly fun to write, so yeah... Short chapters as well...**


	3. And already in trouble!

**Disclaimer: Punpedia is a great site!**

* * *

 **AND ALREADY IN TROUBLE!**

* * *

Wendy got herself out of the house pretty fast, promising her father she would come back later to fix the kitchen.

She ignored the sudden crashing coming from the house and her brothers obvious bickering and walked away, taking a quick glance at the tree by the edge of the woods. The markings inside the heart were long scratched without recognition. Biting her lower lip, she took off paddling her bike through the forest, her hair waving in the wind as she surveyed the old track, racing by the thick of the forest.

Heart thumping, feeling the breeze on her face, Wendy suppressed the sudden fluttering inside her guts and focused on the path. The exercise barely noticeable and yet doing great to clear her mind of things she shouldn't be thinking now…

At the first sight of the Shack though, she seemed to go a little faster.

She was glad and surprised at finding out they were here. After two years of absence, mostly because they had no known relatives around without Stan and Ford, those dorks were finally back. With that in mind Wendy screeched her bike sideways, leaning it in the wall and racing to the door.

There she finally stopped her hand a few inches from knocking. Wendy frowned and suddenly found herself fixing her clothes and taking a deep breath before cooling down. _Control yourself, really, is not like they'll bite you or anything..._

She knocked.

Soos answered the door and Wendy smirked.

"Hey dude, got your message" She said coming in.

"Wendy dude, I thought you wouldn't come since is almost night time"

"You're kidding right? I wouldn't miss this for anything dude. Now where are those dorks?"

"Up there, I could call them…"

"No" Wendy said, snickering to herself. "Let me make a surprise" She said adjusting the cap on her head.

Slowly the readhead made her way up the stairs and to the hallway until she found the familiar door. From the inside she could already hear those two arguing.

"I won't sleep below that thing Mabel!" It was almost funny, Dipper's voice was cracking even more than when he was younger, just like she remembered.  
"Daryl is not a thing Dipper!"

"He is a fungus!"

"A fungus with feelings!"

Choosing that moment to enter, Wendy turned the knob and stepped inside, quieting the twins right away.

"Hey doofuses!" She said.

"WENDY!" Mabel jumped from her bed almost tackling the redhead in a hug. Wendy chuckled and hugged the girl back, realizing she was almost as tall as her now. "Oh my gosh, you're here, we thought we would see you only tomorrow! Oh my gosh, how are you!? How are your brothers!? How is Robry going!?"

"Wow, wow, calm down girl. Glad to see you too and what the heck is a Robry?" She playfully asked.

"Oh you know, that sweet match I made, me here, Mabel… Robbie plus Tambry goes Robry! Or Tabbie, whatever you like best."

"I think I'll stay with none, thanks" Wendy said, taking in the twin. She still wore braces and sweaters, the one she was wearing had a Grappling Hook on it, but the her appearance was not the same. Her hair was stuck in a ponytail, showing off her big star shaped earrings. She was wearing jeans and shoes covered in glitter and surely she had grown, just about reaching the older girl's chin.

After noticing all of that, Wendy turned to the other twin. Dipper was pretty much the same and not, wearing jeans and a red shirt, the kid still seemed the appearance of weird and anxious, although he clearly had more confidence in his lanky posture, his hair was long and messy and she studied him up and down as he stood there, his face blank in a cute sort of way that made Wendy snicker.

"So…"

"What, oh… huh" Dipper cleared his throat, and finally beamed at her, shaking his head. Just as tall as Mabel the boy came closer, stopping right in front of her and offering a fist.

Wendy stared at it for a second and smirked before pulling the boy into a hug.

"Good to see you dude"

* * *

She was hugging him. Like, a real hug, and so much better than the one Soos gave, because in this one he actually felt a little more alive instead of on the brink of death. He saw Mabel giggling over the redhead's shoulder, and ignored her, trying very hard not to sniff Wendy's hair in the process. _You're not a creepy..._

Feeling his heart beating faster as he hugged her back, he felt glad to be close to his friend again, chuckling happily before they pulled away from one another. It had been so long, but she didn't seem to change that much, still wearing flannel, jeans and boots. Wendy kept smirking, and Dipper beamed as she tapped her old hat down on his eyes.

"Hey!"

"Sorry dude, couldn't help it"

He half smiled at her mischievous face, and for a second they just stared at one another until Mabel pulled them closer together.

"Oh you two, that's so nice, but hey, we're back together and that deserves a celebration! Now that Wendy is here too I have to call Grenda and Candy!" She jumped in the air before stopping. "Pacifica too, since she is nice now, right Dipper?"

"Why are you asking me?"

"Because you talk to her a lot, duuuhh" Mabel said beaming at her brother. Wendy laughed.

"Really dude?"

Dipper groaned. "She is just making a big deal out of it, because I hated her before, even if it was not half as much as she did"  
"But I got it together faster than you mister" Mabel remembered. "Now come on, let's get a party going here!"

"He, you're right Mabel, boy this summer is gonna be so cool, now that you guys are back" Wendy said, laughing to herself.

"You bet! Get ready, we are having a celebration!"

Said celebration consisted on the nearly dragged arrival of Candy and Grenda – Pacifica was out of town in vacation - a pile of Pizzas, and a lot of music for the girls to dance to, leaving Dipper to chuckle as he watched them in the living room. Soos had brought around his keyboard and was playing DJ… Well, more like trying to as Melody danced with him in the same spot.

"So Soos would like, lead the tribe with Mabel as counselor" Wendy stated watching the micro party, she had herself a Pizza slice covered in ketchup and took half of it in one bite.

"That would be too crazy, no, Melody would be able to control them I think" Dipper stated thoughtfully, Wendy swallowed her food and snickered.

"Dude, Soos bragged for about a week of how she eats crackers in bed with him, trust me, she is more likely to be dragged into the craziness."

"Impossible"

"Trust me man, I know this stuff" She said certain of it.

"You do?" Dipper questioned, sipping from his pit cola, suddenly the song seized and he watched as Mabel organized her friends around.

"Okay get ready everyone for the Alpha Trio!" She shouted, a new song played and suddenly the girls started a crazy choreography involving 70's dancing and a lot of jumping around.

"UH! Go Mabel!" Wendy cheered as Soos joined the fun, before looking back at Dipper, who was chuckling at his sister. "Aren't you going to dance man?"

For a second he thought he heard wrong. "W-what? What?"

"Dancing, aren't you going to…"

"Ah… Well…Not really a dancer here… Hehe" Dipper said, covering his sudden nervousness with a cough. Memories of clones swarming over him suddenly very clear in his mind.

"Oh come on dude, I know you are a good dancer"

"Know?" He chuckled at her, knowing she must be joking. "You only saw me dancing once, and I was awful."

"Let's call it instinct, I'm pretty sure you got better." Wendy stated, before frowning. "By the way dude, we should totally have a movie night like soon, I already picked a few you know…"

She waited for his answer, but instead she was met with silence and not a good one, more like the silence you get when you reveal to a room full of teens that you hate hotdogs or something. Looking down, she found what seemed a very disappointed Dipper, nervously scratching his arm.

"Dipper?"

"Huh, I-I… Wendy I-I don't know if we should agree to any of that"

"Why is that?"

Now he was caught.

Dipper bit at his lower lip, the music going quiet was only in the back of his mind, as he felt compelled to tell her truth. He really wished he could have waited a little longer, but he guessed this good time he was having would end now… Just his luck.

"Well, for starters, we aren't really staying in Gravity Falls"

"What?" It was Melody who asked that, and all of the sudden, all eyes were attracted to Dipper, but only Mabel sighed knowingly.

* * *

Of course the party ended right there with a bombarding of questions from everyone but Wendy, bringing the night to a halt that found everyone together in the living room. Soos, Melody, Candy, Grenda and Wendy, were all finding places to sit with the twins standing in front of them.

"So your parents don't know you guys are here" Melody seemed dumbfounded to learn that.

"No, that's not it" Dipper corrected. "They know we are here"

"They just don't know the exact situation in which we are in here… Maybeesh" Mabel tried to explain wiggling her fingers.

"So they know what? What did you do?"

"Well…" Dipper was sweaty now, luckily Mabel was right there to help.

"They wouldn't have let us come here Melody, they don't know any of you guys, so we had to tell a little lie to come here." Mabel said.

"We told them we would be staying with Grunkle Ford and Grunkle Stan" Dipper explained as the room fell silent.

"Wait, but aren't mister Pines and mister Pines in the ocean somewhere."

"Yeah, well…"

"Clearly they are not here at all, so why tell such lie?" Candy asked blushing. "Ooooh do we mean so much to you two?"

"That is so beautiful" Grenda agreed.

"Actually, let's start from the beginning" Dipper blankly took the reins of the situation, finally opening the box he had brought. From there he took a small weird gadget he placed on the ground. He plugged it in and the Shack suddenly blinked, the light dimming and dying. "Sorry, but this takes a lot of power, not to worry though, it comes back rather smoothly"

Everyone nodded in the dark living room, the only thing shining were Mabel's shoes until Dipper pressed a button on the device and a beam came out of it, reaching the ceiling and opening like a curtain. A familiar old face was suddenly looking down at them.

"Mister Ford!" Soos said in wonder. "Wow, this so science fiction dude. Can you hear me mister Pines? Are you seeing me too?"

"Actually this is a recorded message." Dipper explained. "Here, let me…"

He pressed a button and Ford's hologram cleaned his throat quickly, before staring right ahead.

"Hello Dipper and Mabel… If you're receiving this message then that means Stan and I are probably dead…" There was collective gasp. "...Or just out of contact for a really long time, there is no way to tell really." Everyone sighed in annoyance. "Anyway I recorded this just in case, because, you know, emergencies and all that. In this hard drive you're going to find a tracking device which, connected to a source of energy, can trace the Stan of War II anywhere around the globe. Now, I'm not saying we need help, but it's very probably the situation if we're not back in two years at least, so you see, we may need some help." The recording said nonchalantly. "Now, with this tracking device you will be able to communicate with us, all you have to do is place a radio, walkie talkie, or another communication device in the multi compatible transmission system and we should be able to hear you. In case you're wondering why I didn't give you guys this so we could talk, it's because I only have one quantum battery from another dimension to power everything through the waves of weirdness we will be facing. This one only lasts for about three hours… So good luck…"

Then the message stopped and froze glaring an eerie light around the shack. Silence was the only music around as Dipper deactivated the message. The lights blinked, lit themselves slowly. When he faced his friends, he could see all of them were dumbfounded and confused.

"I don't get it, so Ford sent you guys this in case he and Stan were gone for too long?" Wendy asked and Dipper nodded.

"So have you guys talked to them?" Melody asked and Dipper and Mabel shared a sad look.

"Well, it's like this, we assembled the device" Dipper got something else out of the box, which seemed like another box. Putting it in the hologram, the lights were gone again and they were all greeted by a highly precise image of earth.

"Dude, that would look neat in the shack" Soos said in wonder.

Dipper walked around the image and pointed a finger to a red dot blinking somewhere amidst the Atlantic ocean, close to the Artic.

"That is where Stan and Ford are supposed to be, the problem is that when we changed everything to try and talk to them, all we've got is this" He pressed another button and everyone around recognized the Stan of War II. The image was of a camera that looked on from inside the cabin towards the back of the boat, and what it showed was a destroyed vessel, broken glass, and a hole in the hull big enough to fit a man grown… Worst of all was the clear movement under a dim blurred light and the small fish moving around the frames.

"Dude, is there any chance they might have got like, totally in the mood for a swim?" Soos asked clearly worried; Melody placed a hand on his shoulder.

"After we saw that, we knew what we had to do" Mabel said hugging Waddles on the floor, Candy and Grenda joined her in a full blown hug.

"We took care to check on the image everyday for weeks, and nothing changed. I made a research and there is no mapped land around the area, so there is no chance they got stranded somewhere else, but Ford said they were going to check a source of anomaly out there, so there is a chance they are alive" Dipper turned everything off, and rubbed his eyes as the lights returned. "Mabel and I, we made a decision then"

"We're going after them" Mabel declared holding her two friends with iron determination, her eyes seeming fearsome and willful.

In the silence that followed, Wendy was found smiling sadly, and Soos was grinning. Melody however was frowning as a fairly good point made itself clear in her mind.

"You are children" She said staring at the twins completely exasperated. Dipper and Mabel looked at each other.

"Well, we're teenagers actually"

"For real now" Mabel said. "Sixteen and counting"

"No you guys don't get it, you are children and you are talking about crossing half a country and an ocean, does anyone see how crazy that sounds?" Melody asked of Wendy and Soos, both shrugged.

"Dude, these two basically saved the world, I wouldn't underestimate then, although I do have some questions" Wendy said looking at them kind of sadly. "How are you guys going to get there? More important, with what money? I mean, I would gladly fix you some, but college fund is not that big."

"I have some money" Soos told them. "I mean the shack got some good profit this year."

"Not enough to fund a trip like this" Melody reminded the man.

"We have that covered actually" Mabel said raising her hand, everyone turned to her and the girl smiled cheekily. "Stan thought no one was looking when he buried his unicorn treasure, but I was! It's right by the bottomless pit."

"So you see, we have the means" Dipper said confidently.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you are children, no one would give you guys a boat or allow you to travel. What do your parents think about all of this?" Melody was making some valid points and again, Wendy saw Dipper and Mabel exchanged a look, doing that silent communication thingy they had.

"Well, as we said before, our parents don't know" Mabel said.

"As far as they are concerned, Mabel and I are spending the summer with Stan again" Dipper explained. "We did a trick with a voice recorder and some very good acting."

"From my part, thank you very much" Mabel pointed out striking a pose.

Melody stared at them dumbfounded.

"But what if something happens to you? What if your parents found out?"

"We have cell phones" Dipper said pulling out his. "These are via satellite so we can talk to mom and dad anywhere in the world."

"And well, we don't really have a choice about the other part" Mabel said, and before Melody could try to reason with them any longer Soos stood up.

"Dudes, I'm coming with ya" He declared, kind of heroically. "I mean, mister Pines needs me, and not just one, but two mister Pineses, so yeah, cant' let you dudes alone on that… I mean if it's okay with Melody"

Melody stared at her boyfriend for some time. She chewed on her lips, and glanced at the twins remembering her one adventure with the weird. She could see determination there, fierce, that would not stop those two from getting what they wanted, which right now consisted on saving their great uncles. More than that Melody could see the same thing on Soos' eyes.

"Okay" She finally said, eyes downcast in defeat.

Soos immediately beamed and Mabel shrieked, hugging the big man.

"Yes, yes, yes! Mystery Team here we go!"

"But I want you to be careful!" Melody warned before getting pulled into the hug also.

Dipper grinned at the sight, kind of relieved they would at least have someone with them. Soos knew how to sail too, and that could really be helpful since he and Mabel knew close to nothing about boats. He was about to join them when they suddenly heard what could be a hissing snake like sound. It kept going, turning into croaking roar.

Slowly everyone turned to the doorway that sent them to the shack, as the raptor gaze back at them with slit dark eyes in pools of yellow, bits of ambar trickling down his legs and tail.

"Oh dude" Said Soos "It got away..."

"I knew this was a bad idea" Melody said clutching Soos' arm.

"Don't worry guys, you just have to keep still, so he won't see us"

"How do you know it's a he?"

"Mabel!"

"What?"

"Shut up" Dipper clutched his hands into fists, his beating heart barely keeping itself inside his body, while a horrible itchy feeling spread across his sweaty back. Why, oh why? It hasn't been even a day!

The dinosaur turned his head to the side and his eyes were suddenly glued to the group. Dipper swallowed a lump inside his throat.

"Guy, I think he saurus! Get it?"

"Mabel!"

"I thought you said he couldn't see us!" Candy shrieked.

"Oh..." Soos eyes widened. "Wrong dinosaur."

"I bet he can hear us too..." Melody said just as the dinosaur jumped forward. Dipper closed his eyes, his legs shaking, unable to even move as he waited for those razor sharp teeth to sink into his flesh. Instead of a searing burning pain though, he heard the sound a something breaking and a hissing angry roar.

Opening his eyes he saw Wendy standing before the group, her hatchet in hand as she swung the sharp weapon on the dinosaur, a deep cut on it's nostrils.

"Come on you big lizard!" She said kicking the pizza box at him.

"Actually he is more like a bird..."

"No time for that!" Melody grabbed Soos' arm and everyone started running. Dipper blinked, staying where he was, his mind racing miles an hour. He saw her kicking Stan's old chair between them and the raptor, but he merely jumped over it, his mouth opening in a wet hiss, she spun away from the raptor's jaws, kicking at the chair. It swung, unbalancing the creature and she turned around, seeing him still there.

"Dude!"

"Right!"

Dipper run towards the kitchen, and ducked behind a flipped table. Soos was towering over him and he heard a crashing sound followed by a another hiss. In no time Soos had another chair on his hands and he threw over the improvised barricade, something that almost sounded like a whimper was heard just as the ginger young woman joined them, a red gash running down her shoulder.

"Wendy!"

"He is coming dudes!" Soos run by them, and Dipper stared ahead, seeing the dinosaur sliding on the kitchen floor. Wendy threw her hatchet, it missed, burying itself on the wall and then she was grabbing his hand. Dipper followed her to the stairs, climbing two steps at the time. Her bright hair pulling him up. The sounds behind making him ignore the sudden burning of his legs.

He was climbing the last steps when Mabel appeared before him. "DUCK!"

He did as she said, feeling something snap at the hair behind his head, before the party canon let loose. A whimper later, Dipper was helped up the stairs by Wendy, his chest puffing desperately as Grenda barred the door to their room.

"Well, that was… something..." Wendy was saying by his side.

"One day!" Dipper said, shaking his head and heaving. "We've been here... One day!"

"Considering your karma you should not be so surprised" He opened his eyes seeing Candy hidden under the bed. "It is imperatively simple coming to the conclusion that you and Mabel attract this sorts of things!"

"Attract!?" Melody yelled. "It's not their fault, I knew that dinosaur was a bad idea, now we're dinner!"

"Nonsense, he doesn't need to eat all of us"

"Soos!"

"Sorry"

"Why is he even here? shouldn't he go be free or something?" Wendy asked around.

"Maybe he is angry? Stuck me in a block of amber with a bunch of people looking at me and I would be angry too" Dipper mused.

Soos, who looked down at his shoes, rubbed his neck. "Well, maybe we could… you know, tame him, make him into a mascot or something."

Mabel giggled. "Gift raptor not Soos?"

"Stop with that Mabel!"

"Maybe I could ride him!" Grenda suggested as the door bulged, a series of angry croaks later and it bulged again.

"Why does everyone think it's a he?" Mabel asked again. "Come on girls! Girl power, dinosaurs can be woman too!"

"Actually, it is a dude hambone" Soos explained, the door cracked.

"Really, how do you know?"

"Trust me, we know" Melody said, gripping a golf club.

"Dudes, maybe we should make a plan or something?" Wendy said, leaning against the door. "Dipper?"

"Right" he bit his lip. "Maybe we could put him back in the amber or… No that is not…." He blinked, suddenly cursing himself.

"Wow, dude, bad word"

"Sorry Soos, but I just realized the hologram must have taken energy from your amber chamber. That must have freed him." He looked around his friends, seeing their scared faces again. His own fear was threatening the crawl back at his back. Has it really been that long? He watched Wendy, retreating, hatchet in hand. Melody had Soos's hand on her own… Gompers, nod understanding the situation kept chewing on the raptor corn, while Candy had gotten the sheets to cover herself with Grenda and Waddles.

"Okay dudes, stay away from the claws and teeth, raptors are famous for incapacitating their prey before, you know, eating them"

"Soos!"

"What? I mean they're hunters so and this one must be really hungry dudes…" Soos paused, frowned, then smiled. "No lawyers can get around those claws." He chuckled.

"What rawr deal!" Mabel exclaimed and everyone waited for a 'shut up' that never came.

"Dude?" Wendy questioned as the door bulged again.

"Dipper?" Mabel was at his side and he found his eyes traveling to her sweater. "What is it? You got that look in your eyes! Oh my gosh, I missed that look!"

"You got your grappling hook?" He asked smirking at her.

* * *

That prey was utterly annoying.

Truly, and it didn't help that he was in some stupid, horrible cave as well. It was all madness inside it.

What sort of creature lived in a place with so many spaces inside the space? It felt utterly annoying and dim witted as far as the raptor was concerned.

Oh what he wouldn't give to be running and jumping on some defenseless prey out there, in the jungle, running with his cousins. But he hadn't heard from them at all, since he started calling, and his belly was hungry, truly hungry. The closest food was still behind that door... So he pressed the knob down and kept pushing.

The velociraptor was becoming impatient when all of the sudden the door burst open. He blinked at the action. In his whole life, doors had been easy to open, but this one had been hard until it wasn't… Deciding to let that funny business aside for now, he eyes focused on the tiny goat waiting outside. He smelled it. Hissed, and bent his legs. It was food… good food, not the food that made him angry, but food to it and he was hungry indeed.

Leaving the other food as an afterthought, the raptor, consumed by his basic instincts, jumped ahead. It would take four steps to reach the prey, four steps in the blink of an eye. He gave two steps and something flew passed his eyes, another something pressed on his throat, and he was tumbling backwards on the floor…

"NOW!" The prey shouted sounding nothing like prey...

* * *

 **There we go! Another one!  
**

 **Hope everyone is liking this simple start, please R &R... suggestions and constructive criticism is appreciated...**


	4. Adventure is Out There

**Hi there!**

 **Fereality: Thanks a lot! I happy you're liking it so far. Yeah, Dipper is a little ackward, but bare in mind they don't see each for three years in this story. So there is that. Thanks a lot, and yes I'll, don't worry. XD**

* * *

 **ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE  
**

* * *

Wendy watched the limp tied up raptor been carried by Soos downstairs, his unconscious state leaving the tongue hanging out of his mouth, a mouth lacking at least a few teeth. You deserved that you big chicken. She thought, spinning her hatched.

She looked to the side, watching as Mabel recounted everything to Grenda and Candy, despite they both been there when it happened. After Dipper came up with the idea to use an obvious bait they had all hid inside the room… Mabel had used her grappling hook to make the dinosaur fall, and once he was on the ground a blanket was tied around the squirming angry dude until Wendy knock the hook on his head.

She snickered as the last remains of adrenaline disappeared from her body. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this alive… It had been a kiss if she was correct… The sound of someone clearing their throat, made her turn away from the scene, to find Dipper with a first aid kit on his arms.

"Dude? You hurt?"

"What? N-no… You're hurt!" He said pointing, she looked down, seeing the red trail running down her shoulder. She snickered. "Wendy! T-that is not funny, please let me..." But Dipper's voice trailed off as she used her finger to taste the red stain, before smiling.

"I like ketchup on my pizza"

"Oh" He blinked, looking down at the kit, clearly embarrassed. "Oh..."

"Com on dude, let's clean up"

* * *

A thick silence enveloped them both as Wendy wiped away the mess and Dipper put the kit back atop the fridge. A look at the living room, showed him the remains of his communicator system. It was completely wrecked. _Great._ His head throbbing, he suddenly wanted nothing more that a good night sleep. Wendy offered him a cola and open another for herself, leaning on the table.

"Rough night, huh?"

"Yes" He answered, rubbing his arm.

"Kind of fun too." He shrugged. "Oh, come on dude, we just battled a dinosaur, I bet there is a little voice inside of you saying how awesome it was."

He let his lips curl upward.

"Okay, maybe it was a little" He admitted, then he remembered how he froze instead of running. "Still dangerous though."

"It can't be helped man, we should be glad everyone is fine instead. I'm glad you're fine..." He heard from his side, and found Wendy there, staring fondly at him. He felt his cheeks burning again and looked away. Wendy coughed. "So you guys are on a mission huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. We can't let Grunkle Stan and Grunkle Ford if they need us"

"I get that dude" Wendy said and there was something sad in her voice which left the boy worried. "My father wants me on the lumber camp this summer" She told him quickly.

"Oh…" The boy was out of words, he knew Wendy hated the lumber camp, at least she did the last time they talked.

"He doesn't even want me in shack, he says he is worried about my experience in a real job" She spoke those words very calmly, but Dipper could see they bothered her even as Wendy shrugged. "College is coming and all that. I swear I have a garbage can just for flyers, seriously, how are you suppose to make a choice about your future and live with it your whole life? It sucks..."

"Well, you could always…" He started, feeling the brim of his hat coming down on his face. When he looked up he found Wendy smiling at him.

"Don't sweat it dude, you guys should chill for a bit."

"Chill?" He ruefully smiled and Wendy smirked.

"Yeap, come on, I'll show you how." Then, to Dipper's utter surprise she took him by the hand, bringing him to the ladder and towards the roof, both of them laughing as they climbed to the now not so secret spot.

"Wow, Soos kept it all here?" Dipper noticed, as Wendy walked to the edge, and sat, dangling her feet in the air before patting the spot by her side.

"He doesn't mind dude, unless you tell him I still use it" She chuckled, and Dipper did the same, before zipping his mouth and tossing it away.

Sitting down beside her, Wendy brought around her old bucket of pine cones, and tossed one to him. The boy, caught by surprise, almost dropped on the ground blushing at his own clumsiness, but Wendy didn't seem to mind.

"Come on dude, now hit the mark" She said pointing at the totem.

"Urgh, you know I'm terrible at this."

"You won't get better if you don't try it though." She explained, picking one up, and hitting the target seeming with no effort at all. "Boosh!"

Dipper saw her pumping her fist beaming all the time. Two years and she was still the same, she was little taller, had definitely more curves, but inside he could feel now, she was just the same cool, playful girl he met two summers ago, and now she was looking at him again, hair blowing in the night's breeze in a much familiar way.

Gulping his nervousness, Dipper sighed, before standing up and retreating his arm, aiming ahead of him.

"Use your back dude, and try not to think too much"

"W-What?" He asked stopping his movement.

"Here" Wendy stood as well and made to throw something, showing him how she used not only her shoulder, but her back as well to put more strength in the throw. "And don't think, let your eye take aim, not your head. I know you are a thought filled guy, but trust me on this one. Don't think okay?"

"Okay"

Dipper said, shaking himself away from his thoughts, seeing her moving so slowly was almost too entrancing. Don't go there man… He told himself before looking at the target. He smiled and closed his eyes, feeling the pine cone at his palm.

When he opened them again, he let out a loud shout, and tossed the pine cone, putting his back at the throw just like Wendy said. It flew in the air and he watched as it hit the mark just a little below the target.

"Wow, nice one dude"

He couldn't help but smirk. "Thanks"

"Yeah, more practice and we could actually make a competition, but you know, that's because I'm really good" Wendy said rising a hand at him, Dipper gladly gave her a high five. He thought he saw something new flashing across her eyes, but before he could identify what it was they settled down again and he felt his nerves stopping his questioning.

They spent their time there throwing pinecones in silence as the night stretched and the first stars appeared in the sky.

At some point Dipper felt himself in a state of calm and peace he found strange and familiar at the same time. Not he didn't have good moments like this at home.

This peace was at his late night conversations with Mabel, his lonely time watching bad movies and favorite shows, hi father reading the paper and talking about the stripes while his mom cooked breakfast…

He turned to Wendy, meaning only to get a glimpse of her, but stopped short at the distant sad look upon her eyes. He questioned her.

"Don't worry dude, I just missed you that is all"

He was about to argue, wondering if that was even true, but she was quickly grinning, throwing question after question about his last three years and Piedmont.

So he ended up telling her about high school, how it was pretty dam tough at the beginning, but together he and Mabel made it through… He left out the part where he still had difficult making friends. He had friends all right, but no friends like Wendy or Soos, people he could always trust with anything. They were people to have conversations about the latest Ghost Harrasers episode, or the next season of Overnatural.

There were bullies as well of course.

"Jerks like that are always around" Wendy frowned, saying that. "I should go up there and give them a lesson or two…"

"Oh no please" Dipper chuckled. "It might be fun, but I don't want to get you into trouble"

"It's no problem at all man, besides, it's not like there would be any evidence left behind"

Dipper laughed and told her about the summers he missed, how sorry he was and how his family ended up in a trip to Florida, which he recognized was kind of fun… When it came time for him to ask her about what was up with her life, Wendy chuckled and laughed before smirking towards him.

"Nothing much actually, crazy family, crazy friends." She turned away the stars shining down on her green eyes. In other words it was pretty boring, except for a few surprises"

* * *

Mabel Pines woke up in kind of a daze.

She blinked her eyes open, whipped the drool from the side of her mouth and yawned, before staring around at Grenda, Candy and Waddles all huddled around her covered in candy packages and glitter. Coming to the conclusion she had a great night indeed, even after the dinosaur, she smiled and got off the bed, before jumping down the stairs to the kitchen to see if they had any breakfast.

To her pleasure there was, and her Broseph was already awake, eating a mouthful of pancakes from his plate. She beamed at the sight and took a deep breath.

"GOOD MORNING!" she shouted running to sit on her place.

"Morning Mabel" Melody said back. "Are you hungry?"

"You bet I'm hungry Melody, I'm the pancake conqueror!" She said, placing a fork at her plate. Melody chuckled and served the teen, who quickly poured syrup on them. "Wow those are so much better than Stan's"

"Are you really surprised?" Dipper softly asked, and Mabel stopped, taking in her brother's less than excited demeanor.

"Hey, what is up?" Mabel asked narrowing her eyes, Dipper's widened. "There is something wrong bro-bro?"

"Huh. No, nothing is wrong"

"I think there is" Melody said to Dipper's disbelief. "Sorry, but you're eating surprisingly slow for your age"

"The fact that I want to taste my food has nothing to do with my age"

Dipper frowned, Mabel ignored him. "No way, Melody is right! A sixteen year old eating slow, that is proof Dipper, now spill it!"

"It's nothing okay, it's just that" Dipper sighed. "The usual, I'm bummed we come back after so long only to go away again"

"Oh that" Mabel said, deflating at the thought of saying bye to her friends so soon, but then she remembered last night and suspiciousness breed inside of her. "Wait, does this have something to do with you and Wendy disappearing last night?" She teased.

"W-what… no!"

"Ha! You're blushing…" She said, before backtracking. "Oh my gosh you're blushing! Dipper!"

"Yes I'm blushing s-so what?"

"You still..."

"I'm just sad, because she said she was going to the logging camp anyway, her father wanted her to, so even if we stayed Wendy wouldn't be here" Dipper explained, not wanting to answer certain questions. "That's it Mabel honestly, seeing her sad is kind of a downer."

"Wow, sorry Dipper" Mabel quickly apologized, although this wouldn't stop her from asking questions later. "I mean, I'm already missing Candy and Grenda and they are both sleeping up in my room. I know this sucks..."

"You found out where Pacifica is?"

"Nope, I bet she must be in some rich people thingy with peacocks and dolphins…" She backtracked. "You think we will see dolphins on our trip? I would love to meet a dolphin!"

"Maybe" She saw her brother smiling. "By the way what happened to the dinosaur?"

"I told Soos to keep him downstairs in a cage until we figure that out, but he didn't like that very much." Melody explained with a frown. "It turns out Old MCgucket is out of town, so there is no one to fix the Amber Chamber..." Mabel giggled. "He did say he had a plan though, and I trust him" She frowned, smiling fonly as if recalling something. "Kind of..."

"Uh, what do you think he is going to do?" Mabel had plenty of ideas, the thought of having a mascot dinosaur was very tempting. She could teach him to jump, and roll and dance...

"No idea"

"Anyway" Dipper said getting up, and Mabel saw he was not really all that excited. "I got to take some things for our trip, I'm gonna check the lab and the bunker for that."

"Have fun!"

As Mabel watched him getting out from the front door, she sat down in deep thought. There was a tiny voice telling her that chewing her hair would help, but she ignored it… At least for now…

"Hello?" Melody was saying on the phone. "Soos? Hi, you solve the dino problem? Great… How did you do it?" Mabel turned around suddenly interested. "Who will be taking him?"

* * *

He knew he should not be coming this way.

They were already about to depart, and she probably would show up, saying goodbye, waving as they disappeared down the road. He was probably just being paranoid. It certainly didn't matter that she hadn't returned his calls, or that she hadn't shown up at all the whole day. Certainly it was nothing to worry about…

None of that stopped him from leaving the woods though, having made a little detour from his path towards the bunker to find the Corduroy cabin right in front of him.

Nervously, Dipper took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to keep away from scratching his arm without success and he quietly knocked on the door. Immediately he heard a few curses, the sound of something crashing on the floor and before he could make any assumption about what had happened the door opened to reveal a very big, hairy and broad chest that, after a quick verification, did have a pair of legs, arms and a head attached to it.

"What do you want little girl?" The voice was loud and raspy, just like he remembered, just like the way he was called out, although he supposed he shouldn't be offended since Mr. Corduroy couldn't really see below the portal.

"UH… H-hi mister Corduroy… I-I was wondering if Wendy is… Huh… here? Maybe?" He asked hesitantly. Finally the face lowered a little bit and Dipper found Manly Dan's eyes staring down at him, with that permanent frown on his face.

"She is OUT! Logging camp!" He yelled, although that was his normal way of speaking.

"Huh… Then… Huh… Sorry to bother sir?" He stated and asked, smiling sheepishly at the lumberjack who didn't seem to care a bit as he closed the door and went back inside.

Internally Dipper was screaming with himself, knowing it was his fault for waiting around for Wendy, when he should have come sooner. He shouldn't have taken for granted that she would be here, he simply assumed logging camp was way ahead of her. Maybe she wanted to go early exactly so she wouldn't have to say bye.

Groaning, Dipper turned around making his way towards the woods. His eyes lingered ahead, and back a little longer, searching the old house, with the old couch still on the outside. His eyes came back and he watched the trees close by, the old tire balance, the tall pines green in the summer, one of the trees showing a deep scratched out mark, probably made by one of her brothers or maybe Wendy herself.

Sighing Dipper went back to find the bunker, he had stuff to do and maybe the distraction was a welcome one.

Meanwhile a little far away, a readhead girl, rested herself against a tombstone amongst the Graveyard. She stood there a long time, seeking the company of the dead while the sun slowly delved in the horizon. Sometimes it was hard been cool, it was. And she knew, deep down that it was a lie. She could win battles left and right with her fists, but deep down there were many fight that she lost as well. In her room, she knew there was a trash can that had known more letters lately that she dared to count. At the back of her mind there were more doubts that she dared to glimpse and in her heart, sometimes, she would feel this unending pressure to be so many things, none of which she wanted to be really...

She lost her fight against her father when he spoke proudly about his smart little girl.

She lost against her brothers, messing the place and looking to her as if she was a mother to all of them.

And she lost her fight against her luck as well, because there was no assurance, there never was...

Her fingers lightly grazed over the grass, while her eyes closed.

If she concentrated, sometimes, she could almost hear it. A distant song, always a little away from her reach and forever it would remain so. _I miss you..._ She thought, letting out a deep sigh as she felt the cold stone at her back, a stone she knew by heart. _Don't go there Wendy, think of something good..._ _Breath in and out, don't think... Breath in, breath out..._ Nervous hands moved around her shoulder. _Is this better?_

 _It is._

When her eyes opened again, they were determined.

* * *

"Wow, Blubs, look at this fella! He is going to be the best cop dinosaur around!"

"Oh, sweetie, I'm not so sure." The sheriff said, closing the cage behind the truck, leaving the raptor to hiss and bite empty air. "He does need a name."

"Rappie the Raptor" Mabel shouted from the side. "That is a great name and you know it."

Blubs and Durland exchange a shrug amongst themselves and turned back to the car. "I hope you remember this was your idea."

"I promised to take care of him Blubs"

"He is your responsibility."

"But you said you would take care of him too."

"When did I say that?"

"This morning at breakfast, come on, please, this is our first pet together." The dinosaur hissed and bit the cage. "See he is already attached to us."

Blubs, turned on the truck and smiled. "I can't say no to that face, can I?" And then they were driving off into town.

"Soos, are you sure?"

Melody questioned, looking up at her boyfriend. His gaze seemed untroubled, but it was only a front.

"Well, I'm sure they'll take care of him, I mean, the sheriff dude said they've been thinking of having a dog or a cat in the station for months now..."

"I meant the trip."

The couple stood in silence for a while, absorbing what would happen now. Melody would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid. Of course she would look after the Shack while Soos was gone, that he trusted her with it warmed her heart to no end. But still, when she thought that he was her boyfriend of three years now…

"I can't let them go alone, Melody"

"I know that, and I love you for it"

"You do?" His grin was still capable of making her giggle, which she did, nodding lightly.

"Dipper, where the heck were you?" Mabel suddenly exclaimed and they Dipper finally showing up, sweaty and tired, dragging what seemed a huge bag on the ground.

"Bunker! Urgh…." The boy groaned finally letting himself fall face first in the ground. "Little help?"

"Sure dawg, that is easy enough" Soos collected the bag like it was nothing and threw it inside the RV, before getting back. Mabel pulled Dipper to his feet.

"You could asked for help you know."

"It wasn't suppose to take that long, but the place was a mess. I think Grunkled Ford ripped everything apart to build equipment, I really thought of looking into the space ship..." At Mabel's flare he went silent.

"What happened last time you went there?"

"I almost died?"

"You almost died, so no, not a chance you're going there alone, beside we have everything we need with us. You science junk, my grappling hook..."

"A beloved sidekick" Said Soos.

"And a pig" She said showing him Waddles. Dipper shook his head and looked around, his eyes downcast.

"Time to go then?"

The sun was setting, and she realized everyone was there, staring at them, reunited in front of the Shack.

She was so sad and excited she couldn't really contain the raging war inside her between joy and sadness. She settled for a happy cry and that was it, hugging Melody tightly. She loved the woman, they got to spent much time together, but she made Soos happy and that for her was worth anything really. Backing away a little she let Soos to his own goodbye. The big man chuckled to himself, seeming really embarrassed and sad to leave her.

"So… Huh… You take care of things here and I… I go like on a…" She kissed him, a mere peck on the lips and Mabel gushed, holding out a screech. _That was the cutest most lovely thing EVAAAHH! And Soos' face is so red and cute!_ She took a picture right away, ignoring the raised eyebrows. "Cool" Soos said even so.

"Well, you take care out there okay? You go and I keep the fort" Melody smirked at her boyfriend. "I'm gonna put zeros on those prices just like you do."  
"Wow, every time I think you can't get better, you get like, totally better Melody" Soos spoke, before turning to his grandma.

Mabel meanwhile hummed to herself, staring at the photo and then at her brother who finally managed to come and say bye.

"Bye Soos' grandma" She said to the old lady, hugging her. She was still the cutest old lady ever in Mabel's opinion, and she waved as Soos got in the RV. She was about to follow when Dipper approached her, and she frowned.

"Something wrong Dip?"

"Huh?" He seemed surprised she asked, although she knew him like the back of a warning label on a sprinkles can. "N-nothing is wrong Mabel"

"I know it is, don't try to hide it."

"Seriously, I'm just thinking, I didn't get to say goodbye to Wendy"

"Awwww" Mabel beamed. "Well don't worry Dipper, I'm sure everything is fine" Mabel was already opening the door, and he was following her inside.

"Yes, but I just wanted to…"

Dipper stopped dead in his tracks, staring at a very familiar figure lazily sprawled on one of the seats. Red hair down and his old cap atop her head.

"Hey dude" She smirked lazily as Dipper gaped like a fish.

"W-what?"

"Didn't think I would miss the adventure did ya?"

At that moment Mabel couldn't hold any longer, and screeched loud, taking her brother and Wendy on a group hug right to the front where Soos was turning the RV on.

"Isn't this awesome guys? The four of us, together in a adventure!" She kept saying as they all chuckled at her excitement. "We're the mystery four now! Super special rescue team!"

"Amazing name Hambone!" Soos followed with a high five. Wendy shrugged and joined in, followed by a very surprised and happy Dipper.

Mabel was still sharing her ideas for costumes as the RV found the road and Gravity Falls disappeared in the distance.

* * *

 **Hope everyone liked it! See ya next time!**


	5. The Road Jerk

**Hey there! One more chapter here, with lots of set ups... XD  
**

* * *

 **THE ROAD JERK  
**

* * *

"… So am I a flying creature?" The redhead asked, watching her adversary's face.

"Yes"

The answer didn't clarify anything, but was accepted anyway, her brain working to understand the clues for the game. She was trying to work as if she was back at school. It immediately raked her nerves, so she relaxed a little. Back to the clue. She bit at her cheek thoughtfully, finding that the clue wasn't of much help after all.

"Am I…" her voice trailed off. "Violent?"

"Totally"

Wendy narrowed her eyes and Dipper couldn't help but snicker. She was totally confused now, and he could read her well enough to know she must be fighting not to take the card off her forehead and end the game.

"You should give up" He said smugly, sitting back.

"Yeah dude, like I could do that, I told you I rule at this game" She said, pointing to herself, her bangs moving distractingly.

"Well, it certainly doesn't look like it" He said. "What is the score again?"

"Dipper is winning by three guesses!"

"Thanks Soos!" Wendy yelled sarcastically to the front, before smirking. "Okay so maybe you found something you're better at than me dude, but a Corduroy doesn't give up"

"Oh, really?" Dipper smirked as well, accepting the challenge while he waited for her next question.

"Aham…" She nodded. "Tell me… Did I… snatch Waddles?"

"What?" Dipper frowned looking back just in time to see movement in the passenger's seat. "Mabel!"

"Just looking at the road Dipper! Soos can totally vouch for me!"

"I totally vouch for her!"

He turned around towards the snickering Wendy, crossing his arms in front of his body. "That is cheating" He told her.

"Can't prove it dude, and hypothetically speaking I thought you've learned already that breaking rules is fun."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "Hypothetically?"

"Aham." She was the one being smug now. "So… Yes or no?"

"Yes"

"Oh good… And did I totally lost this specific adventure?"

"Yes" He said, taking a little delight at her frustrate reaction.

"I knew it!" Wendy puffed, pointing at him in challenge. "You choose a monster that I never saw dude, totally not fair"

"You must've seen in your school books… Or the TV!"

"Still not fair!"

"What was that?"

"I'm totally a pterodactyl" She took the card from her forehead and beamed at what was written there. "Boosh! Nailed it!"

Even if he felt kind of unjustified, Dipper felt himself warming at her victory pumping fists, so he turned to find a distraction.

"Okay, next time we're playing away from certain people!"

"Stop being a sore loser Dipper, Wendy beat you fair and square" Mabel yelled.

"With right angles and all dude!" Wendy said punching his shoulder. Dipper beamed back at her, rubbing his arm in delight.

It was a sudden realization that he was having a great time yet again ever since that trip started. Sure they were on a serious mission, but damn if he wasn't pleased. His best friend was right in front of him and she was the best.

Like many times before, he took a little while to watch the easiness of her laugh, how her cheeks would flush and wrinkles would appear beside her eyes… But then she looked down. Dipper frowned uneasily, detecting a tinge of sadness to her eyes. It wasn't the first time he saw it in this trip, but before he could inquire about it she was back.

"So what now man?"

"Huh, I-I don't know, I think we exhausted every possible game for roadtrips."

"Really? We're not even out of Oregon!"

"Hey dudes, we have to fill up the tank" Soos said from the front. "And I mean my tank, the RV's too, but mine is kind of important you know"

"I sure could grab a snack!" Wendy agreed.

"Waffles!" Mabel screamed.

"It's noon Mabel" Dipper pointed out.

"Waffles!" Mabel screamed despite that. "WAFFLES! WAFFLES! WAFFLES!"

She chanted, Soos and Wendy quickly following, Dipper sighed.

He was about to point it out that he would get a map, when suddenly the whole RV shook. Dipper lost his footing, tumbling to the back, before feeling something hard pressing him down. He could hear everyone shouting and suddenly the room spun, a book flew by, loose clothes were seeming dancing across the places, while kettles and equipment banged inside their baggages. He was thrown back to the side. A flare of pain burst from his elbow, and he cried out, colliding with something amazingly soft as they stopped.

He groaned, lifting his head only to find himself atop Wendy, the girl groaning with eyes closed, a millisecond later he realized what had been so soft before and his face grew incredibly hot as he rolled away from her, gasping and trying to take hold of himself. He loose his footing, flung his arms and hit his head on the floor. _Dammit!_

"What the HECK!" Mabel's scream was a sweet distraction as he got up on wobbly legs, he glared at the mess and moved with Wendy to the front.

"What happened?"

"Oh, some crazy dude threw me out of the road!" Soos said blinking, as he threw a shirt away from his face.

"And there he goes, that jerk!" Mabel pointed.

Dipper followed her finger to a disappearing light at the end of the road, moving away until it seemed to flash. And then it was gone with something like giggles fading into distance, dying out into a somber deadpanned silence.

"So everyone okay?" Soos asked.

* * *

"Dude I can't believe that jerk face! The Several Times would never stand for this! They have a whole song about being a nice driver while smiling and breaking hearts instead of breaking traffic laws and that jerk does the total opposite of that!"

"I didn't know they had a song about driving" Soos said.

"Oh they so, it's like, very rare as well, because it was a limited edition album for the launch of the SeveralMobile. Very rare. Anyway, I so want to have some curse words to yell at him right now" Mabel kept muttering as they walked into the diner. The side road place was fairly empty with a few truck drivers, and travelers, a small TV filled the place with the sound of evening news as the four of them picked a table.

"You do have curse words."

"But they are very rude, I can't just say them!"

"Don't sweat it Mabel, drivers are jerks everywhere" Wendy said.

"Everywhere?"

"Maybe not in Portland" The redhead picked up the menu and scanned the meals, Soos looking over her shoulder. "Besides your own Grunkle is kind of a roadjerk too"

"No he is not, he drives fast only in emergencies."

"Getting to the store is not an emergency."

"It is if you're out of ice-cream."

"He is a roadjerk Mabel, and I can't believe I just used that word." Dipper pointed out as the waitress took sight of them. The woman was thin, short, and seemed almost asleep as she walked up to them nonchalantly.

"Hello, what can I get you guys?"

"Hhm…." Soos thought. "Well I really want some ice-cream, but Melody made me promise to eat something healthy as well."

"Get some Ice-cream and a salad, an Ice-cream salad" Mabel suggested.

"That is a good suggestion" He beamed at the waitress. "I want some ice-cream salad."

"Okay big guy" The woman smile. "What about the rest of you?"

"I'll go with some pie please" asked Wendy.

"Waffles for me!"

"At this hour?" The woman raised an eyebrow, but Mabel merely blew a raspberry.

"Yes Lady, unless there is some crazy law on this side of the road that says I can't get waffles now, I want my waffles! I deserve it completely after been thrown out of the road. My hair is still a mess and my bro hurt his elbow, he was in so much pain, you can't believe how much, he was all screaming and crying and...!"

"I was not and my elbow is fine"

"Then why were you all red back then? Really Dipper you don't have to be all macho around me, I'm your sister, I've seen you cry watching Ducktetive: Next Generation..."

"T-that.. is … T-that is not the case… A-and…." Dipper sputtered, red faced, until the waitress cleared her throat.

"Excuse me, but you were thrown out of the road?"

"Yes, some crazy driver almost killed us back there" Wendy explained, as the Waitress sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Not again"

"Again?" Dipper asked befuddled. "Wait, is this happening often around here?"

"Well, sometimes" She motioned for the rest of the diner. "People have been complaining about a crazy man driving around the road. The cops never see anything and they won't believe us these days. They say it's just stories since this road is not much used."

"Wow, that is sad dude."

"Not really, I got my payment, and profits were not that high to begin with, we're still going."

"Cool..."

"How come no one sees anything?" Dipper frowned, the driver seemed pretty real as he disappeared, certainly traffic cams or someone would have gotten his plate by now.

"He just drives really fast, hits people and runs away." The Waitress said with a shrug. "Anyway, what can I get for you?"

Dipper felt everyone's eyes on him all of the sudden. Wendy had a smirk on her face, Soos was blinking and Mabel…

"You don't need to get us anything lady, cuz we'll be serving today! Serving some Justice!" She told the uninterested waitress. Dipper grimaced, cleaned his throat and spoke politely.

"I want the chocolate pie, please."

* * *

"Wow, this road jerk guy surely has been busy"

"We're not calling him that Mabel" Dipper said for what felt like the thousandth time.

"It's better than these other names" Wendy said taking a look at the shady websites. "The road devil, crazy wheels… The terrible tires…"

"Speedable Douche" Soos chuckled. "That one is nice."

"The name is not important" Dipper argued, motioning the articles open on the internet. "Guys, this could be a sight of something unnatural. Look, none of the authorities can find leads pointing out that this guy even exists. He always attacks between the miles 66 and 69, three traffic cams can't pick a image of him out there. The few witnesses speak of smelling suffer and heat, but no one really is able to describe the car at all"

"So this is like, a supernatural car?" Wendy asked eying him carefully.

"We have an adventure, guys, this is perfect! How long has it been since we went out together?" Mabel was beaming in excitement now, her hands were waving around. She grabbed Dipper's face. "Tell us what to do broseph."

"Wait, but shouldn't we go after the Mr. Pineses?" Soos questioned, scratching his head.

"Well, yeah…" Dipper trailed off, clearly tempted, before letting out a sigh. "You're right, we can't waist time."

"But Soos!" Mabel cut in, smiling. "Think about it, we have to help these people..."

"One person Mabel, we met one person"

"… Well, yeah, but what about her diner..."

"She said they were still profiting."

"Well still, this guy is a threat, someone could get hurt or worse… Die..."

"No one got even as scratch according to this."

"You hurt your elbow."

"Was not wearing a seatbelt, it was my fault really..."

"She gave me Waffles Dipper!"

"And pie" Wendy said smiling. Soos seemed in doubt.

"Well, if we're helping people I guess it's all right"

"Dipper" He looked up. "Look, I want to find our grunckles as well, but we shouldn't leave a supernatural cray cray out there bothering all those nice drivers!"

"Look, we've been out of Gravity Falls for only two days, this could be just some sort of weirdness leaking, it might, it might even solve itself up."

"Do you really think so dude?" Wendy questioned to which Dipper looked up. He turned around seeing their expectant faces, wondering why they were so eager? He did want to, he admitted to himself. Truly he was dying with curiosity, but still, was it worth it? As far as he could tell this was more a supernatural annoyance than a real threat… He turned to Mabel's eyes. She was in her pleading mode and almost reaching puppy eye stage. Briefly, he wondered why they even wanted this to begin with, but doing so would sort of be lying to himself as well… He remembered the fight with the dinosaur back at the Shack. He had been terrified, and he froze at first, but later, when the adrenaline was pumping through his veins...

"Okay then" He said with a sigh.

"Great! Mystery Four! We're back in business!" Mabel shouted happily high fiving Soos and Wendy. "And if you want to take notes in the meantime Dipper, feel free to do so."

"Yes, right, anyway…" He leaned over a map of the roads and cleaned his throat. "First we need a plan…"

* * *

"This is a terrible plan" Dipper said later that night.

They were driving quietly back on the road from their last encounter, except this time they were all ready to take down the supernatural road occurrence. He refused to call him the road jerk. Be as it may the knowledge that Wendy and Soos were in the front while he and Mabel stood vigil atop of the RV was a great asset to his anxiety as he watched Mabel painting his security belts in pink.

"These will keep us safe as the RV shakes." He told his sister as they traveled the road again.

"Got it"

"When he passes, we take as many pictures as we can"

"Got it"

"Don't throw the cameras at him"

"Got it"

"If we aren't able to stop it, these pictures will be our best shot at figuring this out." His sister nodded again and they got into a comfortable silence as they watched the road moving seeming away from them as they kept their eyes to the rear. The twins had both binoculars to keep their watch, even if they were not even close yet.

" _Lumberjill to Mystery Twins. We're at mile 65, dudes_ " Wendy's voice came from the walkie talkie. _"Over"_

"Thanks Lumberjill, over." Mabel said back, adjusting herself on the seat. One more mile of driving, and maybe they would get an idea of what this road… This supernatural road occurrence was.

It took him sometime though to realize something else. His sister was not speaking. Even in a watch, it normally would be inevitable to have his sister keep quiet, and now Dipper felt the silence like a weight setting upon his own worries. Glancing to his side, he could see she was in deep thought about something.

What worried him the most though was that this was not new, it was something he grew used to after going back home. Sometimes, in school, at home or even going out for movies and stores she would sometimes stop. His twin would stop, all of the sudden and stare into something invisible, as if a blanket settled upon her mood, extinguishing her usual perkiness.

"Remember when we went back home?"

Dipper frowned, trying to think.

"Yes… Kind of..."

"It was so horrible. I just wanted to tell Mum and Dad all the things we've been through and all the nice things that happened, like Grenda and Candy... I never had best friends before..." Her voice trailed off as if unable to form words and then... "Anyway, I just start talking and after a while, I realized they didn't believe a world I was saying... I know I shouldn't even say it in the first place but... and they kept ignoring me. Talking on the phone and all that silly stuff. It felt like what we did counted for nothing, like it didn't matter." His sister's voice was wistful and sad and he turned to watch her face. There was still a smile there, oddly contained until Mabel giggled. "You were stuck inside your room the rest of the summer, and I had to get you out."

"I'm sorry" He said feeling guilty.

"It's okay, we both needed time to get back to normal I think. You spent time in your room, I spent my time taking care of Waddles so Mum wouldn't throw him out..."

"I'm sorry anyway" He repeated "It wasn't my finest hour, everything just seemed…"

"Like we couldn't wait to get to the next summer and nothing else mattered until we did." She spoke, taking his words right out of his mouth. Suddenly she turned around and he felt her eyes on him, staring for a moment, before she settled into a smile. "I missed this Dipper."

Dipper licked his lips then, once more remembering that the next summer never came. It took years for it to arrive. He knew what she was talking about. Nothing was really like this. Not school, not the casual friends they grew to acquire or the problems with bullies and the future. He remembered his first depressing days of high school very vividly still, recounting his failures and times where the only thing keeping them centered was each other. Whether the others called Mabel a freak and distanced themselves from her bubbly attitude or ignored him completely like he was some sort of wall decoration.

If she loved P.E. and domestic economy, he enjoyed History and Science and then the day would come when they had no one else to talk about nightmares and the things they had seen…

Yes, he knew perfectly well what she was saying and yet… He could clearly recall his knees not obeying him when the dinosaur set his slit like eyes on him. He missed this… It was dangerous… He loved the mysteries… Did he love the danger as well? Did Mabel? Now he was worried, it felt like a ice like claw suddenly moved towards his heart.

He leaned sideways, their shoulders touching and then she was doing the same. Both of them leaning on each other. Comfort and warmth and the road. Before Dipper could put his thoughts into words though, the radio buzzed again, and Wendy's voice came through in a warning. _"Mile 66, over"_

"Get ready" Dipper warned, his twin assumed a business's face, and nodded, before taking the cam in hand.

Around them the night was dark and the sky was starry, looming over them with clarity and omens. The road seemed to run faster, passing below the RV and away like a spread sheet of shadows and Dipper felt the distinguishing prickle of something chilling his spine.

"Dipper" His name was a mere whisper but he got the meaning right away, the smell of suffer filling his nostrils now that he was expecting it. And then, at the end of the road, and coming forward, he saw the light speeding fast towards them.

The RV accelerated and Dipper pointed the binoculars, catching a glimpse of a flaming burst and a smooth white shape with multiple spots in many colors.

There was time to hear the sound of a cheerful kind of horn, playing a happy little jingle, before the fire was upon them so fast Dipper almost didn't have time to take out his camera. The fire was so strong he caught his throat burning due to the hot air. He coughed, hearing Mabel suffering the same through a haze of blinding fire and thick smoke. A maddening laugh reached a peak and the RV was hammered from behind. Dipper jerked, feeling the air leave his lungs, the belts holding him on the spot safely.

"MABEL!" He yelled trying to see if she was okay, but suddenly the jerk came from the side and he was holding tight again, feeling his stomach revolving.

Mabel screamed somewhere as the RV was hit again and again, then somebody spoke his name in panic, and suddenly the world was spinning, round and round, and round as he shook until his bones became gulp, and his muscles water.

When the world finally came back to its rightful place, he blinked several times, his brain seeming still bouncing inside his skull as a groan escaped his lips.

"Oh my gosh that was sooo awesome! Dipper I thought we were about to die! Dipper?" Dipper managed only a weak moan, and a quick look at his sister, hair spread everywhere, eyes twinkling, before turning to the side and retching his last meal over the RV. "Urhg… Gross…"

Dipper was trying to think of something sarcastic to say, but his stomach was not in agreement to him speaking right now. He retched again, and finally collapsed back on his seat regretting every word he spoke about missing this…

"Dipper…"

"Idonnwannatalrightnow.."

"What"

"I don't wanna talk right now…"

"But I got the pictures"

"I don't care"

"They are very good."

"Later."

"And there is a clown"

He blinked, trying to figure if he heard it right. His brain moaned and weakly sent what could be a thumbs up to his other senses. Yes, he heard it right. Bolting to his seat, Dipper took the photos from Mabel's hand, staring intently at the sight.

The photo was clear, showing something, a shape inside the flames and the smoke. It was white, like he thought before, filled with spots of various colors… And on the wheel as well as he could see there was a clown.

* * *

"His name is Boggus the Clown" Mabel heard her brother announcing next morning, opening his laptop to show a series of images of a clown on various news.

"Scary…" Soos commented.

"Not very pretty" Mabel noted.

"Never liked clowns, they are like cartoons without the fun part, but it's him all right" Wendy pointed out, putting the picture taken last night beside the image. It clearly was the same clown. Mabel compared the green hair, the pale face with a round chin, red nose and big ears, the bald head shining in the daylight images.

"So we have a rednosed roadjerk in our hands" She declared bravely. "Good job Dipper."

"Well I didn't do much I just put on a search and… Wait what?"

"I said good job. You did a great job, now let's work on a plan. I'm thinking of a bait under a giant box, with a thread tied to a giant stick. What do clowns like?"

"Rubber chickens" Wendy suggested.

"Pies" Soos remembered. "Flowers that splash water at you… Balloons…"

"Let's use balloons!" Mabel celebrated. "And I get to keep some!"

"Me too"

"Okay, right" Dipper cleared his throat. "Before that, let me finish explaining"

"Okay broseph"

Dipper nodded ruefully, and pulled an image of an accident. "So apparently, this clown died a few months ago. His car got off the road and hit the only rock for at least three miles around. He died on the spot, pretty much."

"How did he do that?"

"It doesn't say, he must have been distracted with something." Dipper spoke pointing to the big letter on the paper calling it 'the ironically funny accident'. "They do question if he hit the rock on purpose. Anyway, the important thing is he died and now he is haunting these roads by himself."

"So it is an undead clown" Wendy asked. "He must be pretty mad"

"Probably. He probably wasn't capable of moving on, and now he is a ghost haunting these roads."

"Okay Bro-bro, so what we need is some holy water, some amulets and everything will be fine!"

* * *

"This is so not fine!" Mabel shrieked, holding herself together as the RV speed through the desert, in an attempted to escape the suddenly very angry clown car coming after them, leaving a trail of fire in its wake.

" _Hang on dudes!"_

 _"We need to get out of his territory! Where is the road?!"_ Dipper was screaming in the radio. _"Can anyone see the road?"_

"How the heck did you lose the road?" Wendy shouted back, holding a cap with one hand and the roof with the other.

"GUUYS!" Mabel felt the need to shout.

The clown was suddenly racing at her side. She caught a glimpse of wide red eyes, red nose and a rubber chicken croaking madly. "Stop that! You're jerk! You're a big red nosed jerk!"

The clown laughed, beeped his nose and held out a sign. I'M NOT A JERK!

Mabel blinked and pursed her lips.

"Yes you are!"

NO I'M NOT!

"Yes you are!"

NO I'M NOT!

"Yes you are!"

NO I'M NOT!

"Yes you are!"

"Mabel!" Wendy shouted from her side "Stop antagonizing the ghost clown of hell!"

But Mabel wouldn't give up. It didn't matter they were still racing, that her arms were tiring or that the clown somehow brought up a different written sign every time. This was a stupid argument and she never lost an stupid argument in her life, so when the clown pulled a new sign decorated with flowers and animal shaped letters she fumed and blew a raspberry towards him. He seemed horribly offended by the gesture and violently turned the wheel hitting the side of the RV - completely proving her point - Mabel felt her body been thrown aside, her bones shaking. Her friends were screaming.

The RV suddenly turned left trying to escape, but the clown hit the throttle and was suddenly racing in front of them. Dipper was screaming Soos' name in the radio, when they hit the breaks against a wall of fire left in the wake of the clown's passage. The flames tall and hot, making her skin feel like drying leaves, every breath seemed to burn her lungs.

"Wow, dude, we don't have enough water for that" Wendy was saying, the tips of her hair singed. Suddenly the laughing clown came back, going by their other side and Mabel felt a twinge of panic all of the sudden.

They were trapped, she realized. There was fire everywhere except behind them where she saw the spirit clown stopping his car, ready to run them over.

 _A clown! A clown is going to do for us! Oh Waddles_! Climbing down, Mabel met Dipper at the ground, he held his water gun loosely, while Soos tried to use the extinguisher on the flames without success.

"Mabel!"

"Dipper" She looked behind them, the car was roaring now. "Come on broseph, please tell me you have a plan."

"N-no… I… This was a bad idea Mabel… I'm sorry..."

She shook her head. It wasn't his fault, it wasn't... I was...

"I'm sorry Dipper."

"Dudes, don't worry!" Wendy said landing in front of them, ashes covering her head to toe. Mabel looked down, her own sweater had dark spots here and there. "We'll come up with something."

"Like what? Nothing can stop that thing! And we don't have any silver!"

A burst of laughter made them look back and Mabel bit her lip. Waddles came screaming from inside the RV, and she hugged him tightly.

"I'm sorry Waddles!" She bawled.

It was unfair, she felt Dipper's hand on her shoulder. Saw Wendy in a fighting stance, and Soos suddenly coming up. "D-don't worry dudes… I-I'll… I'll try to protect you… I think..."

"Nooo… Soos..." Mabel blinked her tears, the car was racing at them now. It was over. The clown would do it, nothing would stop him. Clowns stop for nothing, ever… Not even stop signs… Wait!

"Dipper!"

"W-what?"

"I NEED SOMETHING TO WRITE RIGHT NOW!" She shouted. A second later everyone was racing to attend her demand, and then she had four sharpies in her hands. Mabel raced towards the back of the RV, ignoring the heat and the beep beep from the buzz horn.

"Hurry Mabel!"

"Just a second!"

"Hamboooone!"

"Got it!"

She stood back and turned around.

There was at first an inferno, dragged behind a very angry and colorful Volkswagen, madly and cackling, the face of a crazy demon ghost ready to strike them to down to the depths of the otherworld and then there was a violent sound of screeching tires, dirty forming clouds everywhere, as the car stopped one inch short from where they were all standing.

"Are we dead?" Dipper questioned, wide eyed.

"Not yet dude."

"He has dinosaur stickers, nice"

Mabel blinked, in fact the small beetle had a thousand colorful dinosaur stickers all over the car. The clown himself was staring intently into the huge STOP she had written at the back of the RV, the whole thing seemed completely frozen, even the smoke.

"How did you know Mabel?"

"Well, he is a clown, I figured he would work like a clown you know?"

"You mean, obeying signs blindly for the sake of comedic pay off?"

"Yes" She said, sighing at the cool breeze. She realized the flames had turned to a big wall of ice as well. "Nice"

It took them a while to breath again, the clown was still staring at them from inside the car, his eyes seeming innocent and curious all of the sudden. Dipper, cleared his throat, Mabel saw he was still shaking a little as he came by the car. He looked at her and Mabell hurried to the sign writing something else in bright pink ink: BE NICE.

"Huh, excuse me, hello…" The clown politely turned to him. "Hi, huh, listen, we were just wondering, on why you are here, you know, here, and if we can… Help?"

Everyone held their breath, Mabel felt her sweaty hands and rubbed them over her sweater. The clown stared at them for a little while, looked behind him, them over the RV. He seemed to search something in the glove compartment, coming back holding a CD. Mabel gushed at the Several Times limited edition cover, but Dipper's eyes cleared and she gasped when he threw the CD down and crushed it.

"WHYYYY!" She cried at the same time the clown smiled, shed a tear and disappeared.


End file.
